Soul Calibur 2 and I used to be "an item," back in the day. We spent every evening together, laughing over the ridiculous ring outs we shared and taking special pride in infuriating my friends, together. It was rare to ever find us apart for more than a few hours at a time; I loved Soul Calibur 2 with all of my heart.

Things change, though, and as time marched on we realized that staying together wasn't the best thing for the both of us. The world had moved on, my needs had changed, and Soul Calibur 2 understood that it was time for me to go. Despite trying to reconnect a couple of times, we haven't really talked much since the old days.

So imagine my surprise when SoulCalibur 5 showed up at my apartment, looking better than ever and wanting to go a few rounds. We've been spending a lot of time together, and it's been a pretty intense emotional rollercoaster, truth be told. I've rediscovered all the little things I used to love, as well as the reasons why we broke up in the first place.

It's hard, because when you get back with an old flame, you want things to go back to the way they used to be, and that's rarely (if ever) possible. SoulCalibur 5 is a far cry from the game I used to love, and it's got more than its fair share of problems, but deep down, the soul still burns.